The (non-governmental) “Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights” announced on Tuesday that the Libyan authorities had released 11 Tunisian fishermen who were detained in the port of Al-Zawiya in western Libya on charges of “indiscriminate fishing”.
The head of the observatory, Mustafa Abdel-Kabir, said: “Two Tunisian fishing boats, including 11 sailors, were released on Monday after paying the indiscriminate fishing tax inside Libyan territorial waters.”
-Advertisement-
Abdel-Kabir explained that “the Tunisian sailors have not been transferred to the Libyan judiciary.”
He added, “It is also expected that another Tunisian fishing boat, including 4 sailors, will be released today.”
On Thursday, the Libyan authorities detained 3 Tunisian fishing boats, including 15 sailors, in the port of Al-Zawiya, who were charged with indiscriminate fishing in the country’s territorial waters, according to Abdel Kabir.
In recent years, Tunisian fishing boats have repeatedly been detained on the western coast of Libya, accused of penetrating territorial waters.